How much do I really spend in a week?

Choose seven complete days

A weekly total is clearest when it covers a named period. Write a start date and an end date seven days apart, with the end date excluded, or list seven individual dates. Gather statements for the accounts used during those days. Keep currencies separate. The result describes the records included, so note any account or cash activity for which you have no record.

Worked example with made-up figures

Repeating

Fictional sample rent: A$270.97 / week
Telco One: A$11.06 / week
Fictional sample groceries: A$9.65 / week
Streamly: A$3.16 / week

Together A$294.84 a week.

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Copy the outgoing payments

Make columns for date, description, amount and source. Copy purchases with recorded payment dates inside your chosen week. Mark transfers between your own accounts separately using matching entries where available. Paying a card balance and counting the purchases on that card can count the same spending twice. Label which view you are using: purchases recorded during the week or money leaving a particular account.

Keep refunds and cash visible

Write refunds in a separate column. Show the outgoing total before refunds and another total after subtracting them. A cash withdrawal records money moved into cash; it does not identify the purchases made with that cash. Receipts can supply those amounts. Leave an unallocated cash withdrawal labelled as such, rather than treating an estimate as an observed purchase.

Example: made-up figures

Imagine seven complete days with food purchases of 100, travel of 40 and a service payment of 20, all in one currency. The recorded purchases total 160. A refund of 10 makes the total after refunds 150. A transfer of 200 between two of your own accounts stays outside these purchase totals. Each number remains visible on its own line so the arithmetic can be repeated.

Distinguish this week from an average

A large bill paid this week belongs in the payment total even if it covers a longer period. For a separate average, use a complete period with a known day count. For example, 280 of recorded purchases across 14 days gives 20 per day and 140 per seven days. Label that figure as an average from those 14 days, rather than a payment total for either individual week.

Check the boundaries and additions

Return to the statements and tick each included payment once. Check the day before the start and the first excluded day to catch boundary mistakes. Keep pending entries apart from completed entries if the record distinguishes them. Add the copied amounts again and write the document dates beside the result. Your final sheet then shows the weekly total, refunds, transfers and any separate average with their sources.